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Canwest News Service
Released to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, Joan Roughgarden's book, The Genial Gene, lays the foundation for an alternative interpretation of Darwinian evolution. Roughgarden, a biology professor at California's Stanford University, challenges the commonly accepted idea that evolution is driven by cutthroat competition between individuals and provides evidence for a model for natural selection that incorporates co-operation as a driving force to explain animal courting, mate selection and offspring-rearing behaviours.
Early in the book, she summarizes the every-man-for-himself interpretation of evolution that most of us are familiar with and asks whether this prevailing view – known as the sexual selection theory – is true. As she presents an abundance of examples drawn from studies conducted on many species, it becomes clear there are some observations that can't be accounted for by the sexual selection theory.
Certainly, all theories have limitations, but when a careful analysis shows that cases considered exceptions to the rule are much more prevalent than previously thought, then it is time to question whether the norm needs to be redefined.
What makes this book remarkably innovative is that the author doesn't view the inability of the sexual selection theory to account for certain observations as limitations, which are inherent to all theories, but as an indicator that the sexual-selection world view is fundamentally flawed. Therefore, she doesn't attempt to extend the currently established model to address the limitations she finds, but instead proposes her own theory: the social selection theory.
In the social selection theory, co-operation is key to survival, not because it is a means to achieving individual ends but because it is in the best interest of individuals to act in a way that is beneficial not only for them but also for the group. (Don't be surprised if this sounds familiar. This is the same idea, developed by John Nash, that revolutionized game theory and earned him a Nobel Prize, as shown in the movie A Beautiful Mind.)
Using both empirical data and numerous scenarios to compare expected outcomes based on both the sexual selection and social selection theories, Roughgarden applies game theory to biology to synthesize a new interpretation of animal instinct and nature.
For the most part, the book is easy to follow for readers outside the field, although some time is required to wrap your head around some of the ideas. This is to be expected of ideas that challenge conventional wisdom.
Should the social selection theory be true, its implications for understanding human behaviour and sexuality are enormous. Applying this paradigm would change the way our society understands the concept of family and assigns gender roles.
Clearly, the social selection theory will be greeted with a fair amount of skepticism and will need to undergo the test of time and further experimentation before it will gain the prominence of the sexual selection theory. Indeed, the author acknowledges that her theory is not the be-all and end-all in interpreting evolution; she is merely demanding that well-accepted ideas be subjected to the same scientific rigour as the theory she proposes.
Although not a light read, The Genial Gene provides thought-provoking insight into what we can learn of our own natures from our biological relatives. It is also a poignant demonstration of the scientific method in action.
Vancouver Sun
